The Black Swordsman
by EpikalStorms
Summary: Finally, after two years, the players of Sword Art Online have been set free into their home world, saved by the famed Black Swordsman. Not all is as it seems, however, when the 4,000 dead gamers are brought back from death, and the people of the world are given new, and tech-improved bodies as Kayaba and Kirito work together to bring all the worlds closer than ever imagined.
1. Prologue

Kirito brought his sword onto Heathcliff's with a loud clanging sound, as the paralyzed players around them watched the duel unfold. No, it wasn't Heathcliff—this was Akihiko Kayaba, the man who had trapped them all in this death game. The one responsible for all those who had died—over four thousand gamers. This, this was all _his _fault!

But Kirito wasn't fast enough. No matter how hard he willed it, no matter how strong he'd gotten, nor how hard he tried, he could do nothing about the fact that Kayaba _had created _this game. It was his. And even though this was suppose to be a fair fight, a duel, Kayaba was still the strongest of all, the final boss, the one who controlled _everything_ in this world.

But he was going to win this. He had to. This would be the only chance to get them _all _out. He'd never be offered such a thing again. All of the players left in Sword Art Online were counting on him. To win. To save them!

But it wasn't enough. Kayaba had found a breakthrough. It...it was over. The chance was gone.

Kirito's eyes widened. "No! Asuna!"

Why would she do this? This was _his _duel! She wasn't suppose to intervene! No!

"_I believe in you, Kirito."_

Yes. He was going to win this. If it was the last thing he did.

And it was. He almost cried when he saw the expressions of the other players as he fell back, Kayaba's sword implanted in his chest. Their faces were distraught, as if their last hopes had died, were dying along with _him_. Funny. He hadn't known they really cared. But Klein's face was heartbreaking, to say the least.

Everything faded when his avatar, what had been his body for the last two years, shattered. And that horrible feeling rushed over his now non-existent chest as he gazed at that red button that had appeared with that fake-cheerful ringing sound.

_You are dead._

No. He shook his head. Not yet._ Not yet._

Imagine his allies, his friends, faces when all those shining particles that had been their savior suddenly gathered back together again to form a transparent, see-through avatar. He gripped Asuna's sword. "Not yet." He whispered.

Kayaba's face, among them all, was priceless.

Klein had tears streaming down his face. "Is it a ghost?" He whispered. If it was, the worlds, both of them, were much crueler than he'd thought.

The Lieutenant shook his head, eyes wide. "I don't know. Maybe. He's strong, I'll give him that."

"But, hey," Klein's second in command raised a shaking head slowly and brought it down on his leader's shoulder as they ll felt the effect of the paralysis wearing off. "If he came back, then he can't be dead, right? That means we might still have time to bring the rest of him back!"

"Not yet!" Their attention was drawn back to the fight.

Kirito's Ghost, as it would be later called in the stories told for years to come, lurched forward and plunged his wife's rapier into Kayaba's chest.

Kirito looked up just in time to see his enemy smile.

He watched as Kayaba closed his eyes in defeat, and his HP bar sunk into the red zone, until there was nothing left. He felt himself take a sharp breath and looked down at the rapier. _Is this good enough?_

The blue jewel on the hilt gleam, and Kirito closed his eyes for the last time in Sword Art Online.

Yes. That was fine for a kid like him. Just _fine_.

"Kirito!" Klein yelled, his voice catching. He grabbed his throat, choking down the tears as their disabled conditions finally wore off completely, and reached a trembling hand as he watched his best friend gleam in a blue light, and vanish. "No! Please!"

His guild held him back, and the rest of them watched silently as Heathcliff—Kayaba—their _leader_, dissolved into red mist that soon disappeared from sight.

"Hey, guy—Oh god, _look_!" Rosario shouted out, holding back a sudden rush of enthusiasm and joy. "The logout button, it's _there_!"

The others waved their hands to summon their player menu's and soon shouts of delight echoed through the halls. Klein just sat there, numbly staring in disbelief at the one button that he and his best friend—_Kirito, Kirito_ was _gone_—had failed to find, no matter how hard they'd searched, two years before when this nightmare had all began.

The last thing he heard was the shouts of happiness, relief, and joy of all the players around him, and of those scattered throughout the entire game, before Kirito's last act saved them from that deathtrap, and they were all forced into an emergency logout.

And the last thing Klein thought while there, was, _"Why? Why couldn't Kirito have had held on just a moment longer? He could be here, to, logging out with us! Why?!"_

* * *

Kirito—or should we say, Kazuto Kirigaya—gazed at Kayaba without an expression as they sat side by side. In the sky. It felt strange, but he'd seen stranger things. After all, this whole world was just a video game.

Many would say _that_, of course. But they were never trapped in SWO for two long years, fighting till death. They weren't Kirito. And they weren't Kirito's friends, either.

He had a strong feeling that Asuna was meant to be with him right then, a feeling he couldn't shake off, no matter how many times he assured himself that _she wasn't there_. And she wasn't. So he resorted to looking at the man of his hatred instead.

"Why? Why do all this?" He found himself asking.

"Honestly?" Kayaba asked, not even turning away from the sunset—the fake sunset—even for a second. "I don't really know anymore."

They went on like that for a while, watching Kayaba's life work and Kirito's home for the last two years slowly fall apart. Kirito found himself sitting there, in the clouds, listening to his enemy with a strange feeling of peace in his heart, learning of Kayaba's life-long dreams and ambitions. It was weird. He'd just been out for this mans life, and he'd gotten it. And vise-versa—but here they _were_. Sitting. Chatting. Like it was all over a cup of morning coffee or something. And Kirito realized he didn't _care _anymore. He knew what he was going to do, already. He was going to fix this. Even if it wasn't his fault, even if Kayaba was the terrible cause—it had _become _his problem. Had _been _his, and ten thousand other people's, problem for two whole years.

"You wanted a new world. Free of the limitations of reality. A world were things would be different. Is that it?" he questioned, not looking at his companion.

Kayaba was silent for a moment, the wind ruffling his hair. "Yeah. I guess. That summed it up quite nicely, actually." He shrugged.

"So," Kirito began his plan, then. To fix everything. "Why don't we make that happen?"

Kayaba was startled out of his dazed look. "W-What? But... I already did... Didn't I?" The older man swept his hands out at the crumbling lands. "Sword Art Online. I—"

"No." Kirito shook his head. "I may not be an insane genius like you, but I'm not exactly stupid, either. We can make that happen. This technology you created, it can be used for _much _more than this, and you know it." He paused, before standing up. He turned and offered his black-gloved hand to Kayaba. "Given, you're still probably gonna die once we do it, but we can make that dream of yours come true before then, can't we? And we can _fix_ the disaster this failed attempt of yours has become."

Kayaba stared at him in amazement. After a moment or two, he grinned, grabbing Kirito's hand. "Yes... I... I see now! We _can_! I can't believe _I_ never thought of it! We can—I... Kirito-kun—"

"Akihiko Kayaba." Kirito stated. "Will you help me blur the lines of reality and the other dimensions together? Join me, and help me revolutionize our worlds."


	2. Death to Life, and a Disappearing Act

The first thing Asuna thought of when she woke up was Kirito. Despite the fact that her (much older) fiance was looming over her with a mega-creepy grin on his face.

The first thing she _did_ was turn her head to the side, calmly, as caught her father's eye. "Get this creep away from me. I'm married."

As she left the two dumbfounded men to comprehend what she said , she began to ponder how, exactly, she was even alive to give it to them.

She turned her gaze toward the loudly blaring television in the corner of the room to catch a news report.

"_The people of Japan are astounded to find that all remaining players of the Sword Art Online incident have woken up!" _A very skinny woman, with pale skin, paler hair, and incredibly red lipstick grinned at the camera. _"We are perplexed as to why they have all been released at the same time, though the fact that one player is still comatose leaved even more room for discussion. A young gamer that goes by the name Kazuto Kirigaya is, as of now, the only player still trapped withing Akihiko Kayaba's game."_

Asuna was a very smart girl, so, despite the fact that she'd just woken up in a weak condition due to the "coma" she'd been stuck in for two years, she discovered soon enough why that particular news report left her body in shock, and her eyes glued to the screen as a live video feed of a young girl crying into her hands in front of a hospital, a woman standing behind her, struck her frozen.

First, she repeated the name of the boy in her mind, over and over and over and over. It sounded so familiar, too familiar. Then she took a good look at the image of the two weeping females on the TV before the image switched to commercial. They reminded her of someone...of...they reminded her of...of Kirito!

"No!" She shot up, staring at the screen on horror.

_Yes_, her mind said. Why didn't you recognize it earlier? **Kiri**gaya Kazu**to**. See? Do you see now? It's Kirito. He's still locked in that game!

"But, he's still alive," She told herself. But even she could hear the note of hysteria in her voice as the two men and the nurse in the room with her looked at her nervously. "H-He's still alive, so-so, he can still come back, right? _Right_?"

"...Of course, sweetie." The nurse lied her back down and began fussing with the cords attached to her arms. "I'm sure _he'll_ be absolutely fine."

* * *

Klein watched the the screen in silence, face lack of any expression as his mind went over that last news report. He felt the same way he had when he'd watched his best friends fade away, not half an hour before. That news report, it had given him one last wisp of hope, only to drown it again. Kirito, was he ever going to actually come back? Could he? Klein was so lost in his own despair that he didn't even notice his parents, or his sisters of brothers that were desperately trying to get his attention again. Even though he hadn't seen them in two years,—no, three. That's right, he'd been going through a rough rebellious stage when he'd started gaming in that apartment—he didn't feel happy at all. Kirito had sacrificed himself for everyone else. What was there to be happy about? His first real friend, and he'd met him in a game—no matter how real that game had been.

He lowered his head into his arms, letting the first tears he'd ever really cried in two years out into his palms. His family stopped pestering him, then.

* * *

Agil laid back in that hospital bed, fists tightening on the white sheets he'd grabbed to throw his face in when he'd seen the news report. His family surrounded him, worry etched into their faces, but he just couldn't bring himself to look at them. Kirito had sacrificed everything for him and everyone else, and he hadn't even been able to _move_. He hadn't been able to help.

What kind of friend was he?

Poor, poor Kirito.

* * *

Silica sobbed into her fathers arm. First, she'd lost Pina once more, after everything they'd gone through. He'd just vanished into thin air with the rest of the game! Then she woke up, and jumped happily into her parent's arms only to find out that the one who had saved her and the others was still stuck in that rotting world. Her big brother, Kirito, he was still trapped.

And she couldn't _do_ anything!

"Kirito! P-Please, come back!"

* * *

"Lizzy, _please!_" Her mother sniffed, clinging to her father's arms. "Stop crying! Why are you crying! You're free! You finally woke up! Why are you sad!"

"It's Kirito." The pink haired girl sobbed, rubbing her eyes red with her tightly closed fists. "He's still in there!"

"Who?" Her father frowned. "Sweet-heart, who's Kirito?"

The girl shifted, glancing to the side as the nurse pursed her lips sympathetically and pressed the clean needle into her wrist. "He saved us all. _He's _the one who deserves to be free!"

* * *

He'd been on the front lines constantly, had seen many of his friends die, many of his comrades burst into those shining crystals that vanished after five seconds. But he'd never actually looked at it. He couldn't bear to watch as his guilds numbers dwindle more than grew. He'd focused on making it to the top, and finding a way to save the ones who were still left.

But it hadn't been him. He'd sat by, paralyzed, and watched as another, that amazing fighter, Kirito, fought the creator of the game—the last and final and most powerful boss, and died. And _came back_. And won!

And now? He was still stuck in there! And while he was free from that death game, as were the rest of the others, he'd never felt weaker.

He'd never wanted to return to somewhere so much in his entire life. While being stranded from reality, from everything he'd known, for those two years trapped in that game of death, it had _become_ his home. His life. He wanted it back, and he _didn't_ want it back.

His mind was so confused. He didn't know exactly _what_ he wanted anymore. Except one thing; that boy—Kirito. His savior. _All_ of their savior.

He had to come back to. He deserved it more than they.

The man sighed and he brought his hands to his head. But, he was the least likely to make it happen, now wasn't he?

* * *

It was all just a void, now. A black space with random wisps of blue number codes appearing out of nowhere and vanishing into as such. They sat in that same spot, silently. In that spot that had once been a sky. A fake sky, but a sky nonetheless. He turned his dark eyes onto his companion. "Is it ready to go?"

The other regarded him almost cautiously. "You know, Kirito-kun, if this doesn't work..."

"They deserve it." The smaller turned back to his task as surveying the empty darkness. "If there is even a chance to bring them back, we'll take it. I thought you sad you wanted to fix this?"

Kayaba chuckled. "You're still determined as ever." He stretched, and waved his hand in the inky blackness. A player menu appeared, and he pressed a few buttons that weren't included in the normal avatar's screen. That, of course, was because he was the Admin. "Alright. We're golden."

Kirito lifted an eyebrow, and Kayaba let out a laugh. "Okay, okay. _You're_ golden, and I'm still Satan spawn, I get it."

"You better," Kirito huffed. "As far as I'm concerned, you're Lucifer himself."

"Ouch!" The other pulled a hand to his heart. "Kirito-kun, I'm hurt!"

The teen rolled his eyes. "Just push the damn button."

"Right." Kayaba was silent for a second, finger hovering over the blue circle that floated in front of his face. He suddenly spun around, and caught the younger and a tight hug. Kirito's eyes widened, and he stiffened. "W-Wha—"

"Kirito-kun." Kayaba said, seriously. "I want to say goodbye. You've made me realize many things. Realize how wrong I'd been. And now I just want to say that I'm sorry, even though I know it will never make up fro what I did. And thank you. Thank you for everything."

Kirito swallowed the sudden lump in his throat, but before he could get a chance to even reply, Kayaba spun around once more and hit the blue button. The blackness around them suddenly began to twist with light, and colors thronged from unknown points.

"_-Initiating download-" _The woman's calm voice told him.

"Kayaba!" Kirito shouted, reaching out a hand. He was almost sad to see as the man begin to vanish from sight. "Kayaba!"

Kayaba turned one last time, and before his world turned white, Kirito watched the older man mouth something to him.

He couldn't hear anything, but Kirito knew already. He'd seen someone else do the exact same thing. Someone he'd sworn wouldn't die, but had.

_Thank you._

"_-Download complete. Link between worlds had been made. Initiating transport-"_

His world turned white.

* * *

It had only been a month since they'd all woken up, and Asuna had gathered with Agil and many other of the SAO survivors to talk, at Agil's pub. It was located on the main street of Tokyo, stashed in between a news station and a shopping mall. She'd come almost everyday since they'd been released from the hospitals, and it was almost always three fourths empty. But not today. Today, it was filled with gamers, and almost all of them knew each other.

Asuna sat at the bar, next to a sleepy looking Lisbeth, and a young girl named Silica spun on the stool to her right. Agil was polishing a cup with a white rag behind the counter, chatting up a storm with Klein, who she had yet to see laugh since the day they were freed. He didn't even smile anymore. His whole guild was extremely concerned.

The Knights of Blood Oath had dissolved, but people had kept the connections anyway. Asuna accepted that. There was no way she could even think of separating friends, not after all they'd been through together. Not after all they'd seen.

She'd noticed a few familiar faces, like that woman she'd met at a church in the Town of New Beginnings with Kirito and Yui, who'd housed the frightened children players. And a few members of her old guild. And many others she'd met while partying with Kirito.

She shook her head and sipped her apple cider. Every thought she had somehow managed to trail right back to Kirito.

"Oi, Asuna!" Barry, the ex-Lieutenant of the Blood Oath guild waved her over. "Any news on his condition?"

The whole room, which had been positively bursting with noise, abruptly fell into silence. Everyone turned to stare at her, a few glimmers of slight hope showing in their almost-dull eyes. She felt her heart break a little more when she saw them. "I... I just checked back a few hours ago. The doctors said they saw no changes. I'm sorry..." She let her shoulder slump and bowed her head, so she wouldn't see the helpless and sorrowful expressions they all wore.

Barry Asagaya was a cop in the real world, it turned out. High rank, too. He'd spent the last month dedicating his time to hunt down every PK(player killer) listed in the online SAO archives. Those who had been a part of the Laughing Coffins were especially elusive, and were now on the top spots of the FBIs most-wanted lists, along with the still-missing Akihiko Kayaba—though every player knew he was dead and gone—and a few others.

Barry let his head drop. "Ah. Okay. N-Nevermind, then." Klein sunk down in his chair, bangs shadowing his eyes, and the people in the room went back to talking, mumbling their conversations halfheartedly.

After about an hour, the door suddenly burst open, and a few people came running in with wide eyes, white as sheets.

At first, Asuna thought they were just late to the event, but as she looked closer, she saw that they weren't from the SAO survivors. The tell-tale signs of tight, gaunt skin, stick thin figures, and weak movements weren't there. The only resemblance they had to her and her friends was the extremely pale skin color. But she saw that it wasn't from fatuity, but fear.

"A ghost!" One of them screamed. "Ghosts! Lots of them!" All of their minds immediately went to one person.

Klein stilled, his eyes hardening. "Ghosts?"

The newcomers nodded, clinging to the tabled in terror. "There are so many, and they're all coming here. The leaders wearing all black, with these big huge swords and—"

"Can't be!" Agil gasped. Every single person, the SAO players, at least, were frozen. "Impossible! Can it... can it be him?" They all turned to Asuna, and she saw it was her turn to take charge once again.

She hoped off her stool and made her way to the entrance. "Alright, people! Get a move on! I don't care if it's just a rumor, we're desperate!"

They all poured out onto the street to see a sight they'd never even dreamed of. The news station had turned all it's camera's to the procession of people who danced through the streets wearing bright colors and happy faces, full of cheer. It was what they'd been used to in Sword Art Online, but this was even more of a party those had been.

It was like a parade. The citizens of Tokyo stood on the crowding sidewalks, coming from the mall, the stores the alleys, just to get a good look. The whole street was filled with people, and the thing about these people was that they _were_ ghosts. At least, they were to the SAO players. Because, each player there had seen many of these people die in front of their eyes. And yet here they were! In Tokyo! In the real world! Looking as healthy as they had in the game, wearing the same cloths, carrying the same weapons.

Silica screamed in joy, and many people turned to look at her as she scrambled forward, and a blue, ice-colored blue fell from the sky, settling on her head. "_**Pina**_!"

And, that was like the string suddenly snapped, because all the players rushed from the bar and into the crowd of dancing people, screaming in joy, happiness, and disbelief.

"Richard!"

"Sara!"

"Oh, gosh! Lisbeth? So you survived after all!"

"Tina!"

"Kyo!"

"Sachi!"

"Keito! Sassemaru!"

"Akiyo!"

"Shigure!"

"Tommy!"

"Fideria! You're alive!"

But soon, they stopped jumping. Their bodies were so weak. The newly revived—they were _alive!_-players held up their friends, the ones who'd survived, and the street was soon quiet.

But Asuna hadn't moved from the sidewalk. She hadn't spoken a word. She was frozen, staring, and staring and _staring._ Because, it was him. He was there. He was alive!

"K-Kirito?"

Everyone but the players that had come with him froze. The newly revived gamers grinned excitedly as they watched things unfold. The street was completely, utterly silent as the SAO survivors turned to stare at the teen clad in black, who was crouching on the edge of Agil's pub's roof. He had two sword sheaths crossed on his back, and a black cloak fluttering from his shoulders. He smiled down at them, eyes twinkling. He pounced, jumping forward, and landed on his feet, and inch before Asuna. She didn't even blink, staring at him fixated, eyes wide.

"Asuna. I finally made it." He smiled softly. "I did it."

Her eyes filled with tears, and she lurched forward, wrapping her arms around his neck, and latching her legs around his waist, burying her face in the crook of his neck as she shook with sobs. "You came_back_!" She cried. "You came back!"

He smiled, nodding, and held her tightly in his arms. The street broke out into cheers, and the people who stood behind the news station cameras grinned at each other, high-fiving as they caught the whole thing on tape.

After a while, Klein began to laugh, tears streaming down his face. He fell to his knees as the old, newly alive members of his guild caught him. Kirito's head snapped up, and he grinned. "Klein! Klein! Hey!" He ran over, laughing, and reached out one arm to catch his friend in a side hug, holding Asuna with the other.

Soon, the whole crowd got comfortable, and many people sat on the sidewalk, just talking. Cars had stopped running long ago, as their drivers got out to sit on the roofs. That's when Kirito set the next phase of his plan into motion.

First it was Asuna, then Klein, then a few others, but soon, every SAO survivor was glowing in a bright blue light that enveloped their entire being.

The camera caught nothing but a series of bright flashes for a moment, but soon the light was gone, and in it's place was...

"My _god_!" Barry exclaimed. "These are our avatars!?"

Kirito nodded as many shouts of surprise and realization rang from the people who had, not moments before, looked sickly and weak—now they were strong again. They were dressed like the people who'd been revived, and had their old weapons, and everything. "And get this!" Kirito shouted, silencing them, and they all gazed at his grinning face. He paused, then laughed and waved his hand in the air. The newly reunited 10,000 SWO players gasped as his player menu appeared before him.

"What?" Asuna stared. "But.. this is the real world, isn't it?" He voice shook for a moment, and she looked around uneasily, the others copying her movements.

"Yes," Kirito laughed. "It's the real worlds. I've spent the last month working on a...special project. I've fixed everything... Look," he tapped a few buttons on his menu. "You'll find all your items still there, and all your skills. You can access any of these in the real world, not to mention that I've updated the transportation crystals to travel from world to world. I've connected the real world with the game world. There are no more video games! They're all _different dimensions _now!"

He heard the tones and notes of sound as the players re-explored their menus, and suddenly, Asuna had her rapier in her hand after a flash of light. "Just like in the game." She muttered, an amazed look on her face. Kirito nodded, then turned to the cameras. "Those things broadcasting?" He asked one of the crew members. The man nodded, looking a little more than slightly dazed. Kirito looked at the camera. "Citizens of Japan! The line between reality and the virtual dimensions has been crossed! I have established a bridge between universes with the help of the Nerve Gear technology invented by Akihiko Kayaba. You will find that, not only do the SAO players have the abilities of an avatar, but you as well. Everyone does. Please take the tutorial listen on your menus for further information on how our new world works. Thanks!" The young raven haired teen laughed, and waved at the camera before turning around. His eyes became sad. "Asuna, I think you're going to hit me in the very near future."

She froze, and the shouting crowds quieted down to hear what he had to say. "To have been able to make this world, I had to make a deal. It was extremely risky, but I had to fix everything, please remember that."

Asuna began to grow cold again. "W-What are you saying?" She was afraid of the answer.

"Find the right world, please!" He leaned forward to grasp her hands in his. "I have to go now. To one of the worlds. Find the right one! I—" His form began to shimmer, and the crowds gasped, everyone's joy disappearing for the moment. Klein ran forward. "Kirito!"

The dark-eyed boy shook his head quickly, and began to vanish from sight. "I have to leave soon. I'm being taken to one of the worlds! It's the price I have to pay for doing all of this! It was the deal—" His voice was beginning to grow echoic. "I'll be trapped in one of the worlds, until a player—a person, now—saves me. Sucks for me, I know, but—" He stiffened, letting go of Asuna's hands. "I'm being taken, now. So, please don't be long! You have to—"

Kirito suddenly gasped, turning around and gazing up into the sky, seeing something they could not. When he turned back, he was barely there anymore, and he looked absolutely terrified. The camera that stood behind Asuna and Klein caught it all, and displayed it across the screens of the world. The horrified look in his eyes, the expression of fear caught clearly on his face.

"_**Save me**_!" He screamed, reaching out a hand. But his voice was only an echo in the silent streets of Tokyo, and he disappeared from their sights completely.

No one moved for a moment, then. Not even when Asuna fell to her knees, still holding out a hand to where Kirito had been only moments before. "No, _Kirito_!"

* * *

**I know it's not my best or greatest work, but I actually like this story, and it's plot-to-be, so all flames will be used to roast veggies. And marshmallows, but veggies are nummy and don't rot your teeth, so there. Oh! No, no, WAFFLES! XD yeahhhh... Waffles...**

**Okay! I actually only expected to write four pages for the first chapter on such a short notice, but it turned into six instead. I'm slightly proud of myself, especially when I go and read how so many authors are extremely proud and say "OMG! 645 words in this chapter! I IS SOOO HAPPEH! IT'S A NEW RECORD!" Er, not to brag or anything, but yeah.  
I know this seems a bit random, dramatic, and all over the place, but please bear with me. I really love this idea.**

**Anyway, read and review. So... yeah.**

**~EpikalStorms***

**BetaNote: I have a feeling you were sleepy at writing the last parts xD**

**Author's response to BetaNote: Your instincts are astounding. I was half unconscious writing this whole chapter! ^ ^ Kudos for guessing correctly!**


	3. Evolve and Expand: Accepting

_**The Guide**_

_Welcome to the Life Tutorial, gamers! This is where you will be learning the ups and downs of how our new reality works. My name is Kirito, one of the programmers of the Bridge Between Worlds. My companion and I have spent the last month working our hardest to make this new Reality possible I have written this guide book to show you how to work in it._

_We'll begin with your Avatar menu. All you have to do is wave your hand in a series of simple movements a foot before your shoulder. Which hand you use depends on the world you are in, however, so do not be alarmed if you fail to summon your menu on your first try._

_On the Avatar Menu's home page will be five selective actions. The six action, "login", will only be available to you if you are entering one of the other worlds for the first time and have yet to establish an account. A well-known act, "logout", is now a thing of the past, as once you establish your account connection with a world, that connection will always remain so that you will be able to teleport to that world at any given time with a transport crystal._

_Back to the menu! The first action is labeled "Avatar." If you select that, you will be shown a page containing seven selections for yourself. One of these selections is your "Stats." This will show you how well you are doing; how full your health bar is, and also what skills and items you are currently equipped with. Your "level" is also shown below your health bar. You can continue to level up throughout your life, but it may take a lot longer than you believe. Think of it as training yourself for the future._

_Going back to your main menu, the selection next to your "Avatar" action is titled "Skills." Here you will see a list of all the skills you have or have not begun training in, or have completed. The more you train in a skill, the better you will be at that particular action. That is how the old reality worked as well, though then you were unable to view how far you had gotten in training. Also, in the "Skills" list, you can equip and un-equip any skill any time you wish. The way this will work is, by un-equipping a skill, your brain will automatically focus itself more on the skills you already have equipped, so your mind can be clearer than ever before. I have found, in my studies and programming of the new reality, that this will be a rather big help to those gamers who are diagnosed with ADHD, or OCD(see glossary for definitions)._

_Moving on to the next action! Below your "Avatar" selection, you will find a option labeled "Inventory." This is personally one of my most favorite improvements on reality, since I have gotten quite used to this system of dealing with things during my two years trapped in Sword Art Online. When you select your "Inventory", you will be shown a list of the items you have collected and are carrying at the moment. Do not be alarmed if your inventory list is long. Picture your Inventory as a large backpack containing a void inside. This back pack is invisible, intangible to touch, and any of our other senses. The void inside is an endless space, that can hold any number of items you want, and keeps them organized to your specifications. It is linked to your "core" (the energy that makes you up your existence), and you alone. Only you can summon the items inside, or command your inventory to open a trade with another gamer._

_The main menu's next choice would be the "Locations" tab, which is located just below your "Skills." Here you will find a map of the new realities worlds, also known now as The Universal System Program. You will learn more of The USP in later chapters. This map shows you your current location, as well as enabling you to select one of the many worlds and zoom in and out of any focused point., For privacy purposes, however, the maps are programmed ahead of time, and will show you pictures of the locations just after my co-worker and I finished programming them into The USP. The map also allows you to select a friend from your "Friend's List," and track their location as long as they are "Invisible" to tracers. A smaller selection is seen just above the map's screen, and you may choose to be "Tracked," or "Invisible." Every other gamer in Reality has this option._

_Back to the main menu, the selection to the right of your "Locations" selection would be your "Friends List." As seen from the title, when you choose this selection, you will be shown a list of all the friends you've added to it. You may categorize these friends into "Circles," a give their groups a title, such as "Family," "Acquaintances," and "Close Friends(all of which are pre-programmed into your list already)," when you select the "Edit" tab to the left of the list._

_The final selection of your main menu would be the "Personal" tab. This is, as you may have already guessed, filled with your personal information, which you can program to be seen only by your eyes, or those of which you trust as well. The following information is seen on this page:_

"_Hometown." (HmT)You can set any large city in any of the worlds of your choice as your hometown, which is where a transport crystal will send you by default if your command isn't clearly recognized. It is also where most players have their homes built, or bought. You can buy a house of your own only if The USP is certain your are of thirteen years or older. No exceptions. The USP will know if you are lying about your age. That is a fair warning._

"_True Name." (TN) This is your real name, as other players will only be able to see your "Username" if they scan you with their "Calculation Sight." You must choose your "Username" wisely, as the it will be used for all worlds. The USP will set it as an instant response to your request to establish an account in a new world._

"_Badges." This is a list of all the honors you can receive for completing mission(like those that are given by the Lords of the Races of Alfheim). Also, if you have received awards such as the "Noble Peace Prize," that is given to the braver warriors in Sector 1, those will also be listed. This is the only list on your "Personal" that you can choose to make public, and players will see it during "Calculation Scans."_

_Now that you are well learned in the subject of your Main Menu, the first section of the guide is complete. You will be rewarded 1,000 Col (now the only currency in The USP, as the individual currency of the Old Reality won't register with the markets—not to worry, though. You can go to the Royal bank, which is located in the Ruby Castle on the 100th Floor of Aincrad, and cash in any of the old currency you have for that same amount in Col), and +5 Exp. once you complete this guide._

_Thank you,_

_**Kirito**_

Suguha Kirigaya sighed as she dismissed her Main Menu. It was a lot like the one she'd gotten used to using while playing Alfheim Online, but they had their differences, since the Reality one was modeled after the SAO Avatar Menus, with added features.

It was still hard to believe this wasn't all a dream. Only two weeks before, she'd been sitting by her comatose brother's bedside, wondering about how exactly the NERVEgear worked with your brain, and now? NERVEgear had taken over the universe. Literally. And they still hadn't heard anything of Kirito.

Many things had changed. At first, the human race that occupied the realm of "Earth" (now known as Sector 1 or "The Original World" or "Old Reality" by many of the gamers was now officially called "Sector 1" by the newly affiliated governments and Leaderships) had been quite cautious around the New Reality subject. In the first week, many exploration team and, later, diplomatic teams had been sent ahead to search the New Realms in reality. The next weeks, The Lords of Alfheim first responded with a peace treaty request, as they had no wish for war with their new brother Realms. It was happily accepted, Alfheim was declared the official Sector 2 by the Council of the Realms(a large group made up of a representative leader from each Realm), and throughout the last week, many of the other Realms followed the Lord and Ladies of Alfheim's lead. The Newly Reformed Knight of Blood Oath, who now went by the name of "Royal Guard of Aincrad," were the second to issue an affiliation request. Soon, many of the Realms governments were working together, trading goods, information, having meetings regarding the rule of The USP(the Universe, literally speaking), and just getting along well. One of the only Realms who had yet to be heard of was the Realm of the Senshi(previously known as a popular game, Gun Gale Online), which was still suffering from a programmed post-apocalypse setting. As of now, The High Court of Alfheim was working alongside the newly elected Government of Sector 1 in aiding the Senshi Realm in their needs. Right now, the News Bulletin, a small box that dropped down from everyone's Main Menus, stated that the Realm of Aincrad was taking in Senshi refugees.

"Sugu, honey, can you go to the market in the Town of New Beginnings and get some more of that bread cream little Silica told us about? We're out!" He mother called. "Don't worry about cash, I sent you some Col!"

Sugu had the sudden urge to grin as, sure enough a gift alert popped up in front of her, informing her that the gamer named "Natsuki", who was in fact Kirigaya Midori. Her mother really seemed to love the new Universal System just fine, choosing to put her late sister's first name as her "Username". It certainly made life easier for some people. In fact, the science division of Japan had been working on calculations with the America division, and they stated a few days before on a News Bulletin that in about a year or two later, and you would be able to see the stars of Sector 1 clearly in the sky again. This was due to the fact that people rarely used cars anymore, instead using transport crystals to take them to the "Crystal Port" nearest to their destination.

Many people, especially those who had been stuck inside SAO(they were called the "Originals," by the other gamers—which was what all sentient life in every Realm was now called, even thought they were classified into separate races. It was like how every human was a human, but there were Japanese humans, and Russian humans. But not any more. Now, it was every sentient and civil being was a gamer, but there were Alfheimian gamers, and Earthen gamers, and Senshi gamers—and could be recognized when players "Calculation Scan"ed them and saw the special badge all the "Originals" had been given for surviving—or not surviving, all that you needed to get the badge was to actually have been trapped in the game, no matter how long—the death game of Sword Art Online) were a bit concerned about the Kirito Situation, as it had come to be called. They needed, and wanted, to find him, but they didn't know where. Currently, the Council of the Realms were dispatching a special unit into each Realm to search for him, but it had been to no avail yet.

"kay, thanks! See you soon, mom!" Sugu jumped up and jogged out the door, her new black katana on her back. She'd heard countless stories about her precious big brother, how brave and fearless he'd been, how good of a fighter. "The Black Swordsman." Those stories were so inspiring that, since she wanted to feel as close as her M.I.A brother/cousin as possible, she began to follow his color scheme. It took her days of searching the markets of Aincrad's second floor Market, Urasa, to find the same black midnight coat her brother had pilfered from his first boss, then a few thousand Col to have it tailored for a girl. But it did lift her spirits a bit. She wanted to be like him, Kirito, her brother.

Her user name was "Lyfa", since that had been her username when she played Alfheim as she waited for her brother to wake up from and be freed from SAO.

She'd met a lot of Kirito's "Original" friends, as she'd been spending a lot of her time in the Aincrad Realm lately, since she wanted to see what her brother's life had been like for the two years he'd been gone, and was surprised to find that most of the "Originals" went back to Aincrad as soon as they were settled into the new Reality and had heard it was back as a Realm. Apparently, they'd gotten so used to that type of lifestyle, they almost couldn't bear to leave it for good. She tried her best to understand them. If she understood them, she'd be able to understand her brother, right

Agil, a fast friend, had owned a cafe on Tokyo's main street before "The Programming(this was what they called the transfer from Old Reality into the New)" had taken effect. As soon as he'd situated himself again, he'd packed his bags, sold the pub for Col, and had opened a new, much more well-kept and lively one in the Town of New Beginnings, called _The Swordmaster's_. Even though no one said, they all knew deep down that the decision of it's name was affected greatly by Kirito's influence on them all.

She went there after purchasing a week's supply of the wheat cream her mother had wanted, and now she sat on a bar stool at the counter, with a ginger ale she'd bought with the remainder of the Col her mother had gifted her with, watching as another of her friends, Argo, argued with Agil about his cheap prices. A young man named Klein sat to her left. As shot the time was that she'd known him, Sugu had found him to be a quiet and reserved type of guy, but had guessed he hadn't always been like this, judging by the concerned glances the members of his guild cast him every once in a while. Still, she'd found him easy to befriend. Though, perhaps it was because she was the sister/cousin of a certain Black Swordsman, who she'd heard was Klein's best friend.

She was silent for a moment, and that's when she noticed the regulars of Agil's pub. It was funny, since most all of them were Originals. Go figure. Of course they'd gather together. Now they only understood each other, the ones who'd been through what they'd been through. That's when she began to first feel extremely out of place, as if they were letting her stay there only because of her relation, out of nicety.

This feeling of abnormality, multiplies by the New Reality she was still getting used to, you wouldn't blame her if she just started to let the stress get to her a bit, would you?

"I think he's in Alfheim." She suddenly blurted out, quite loudly too. Sugu felt her face heat up in embarrassment, and many of the gamers near quieted down and turned to look at her with serious looks adorning their faces.

"Who," Klein started forward intently, "Kirito?" When he said that name, the whole room quieted down a few notches. The conversations didn't disappear, but Sugu knew the other were now listening in, and hanging onto every word she said. She felt herself become more embarrassed. _I shouldn't have said anything!_

"Y-yes," Sugu sighed out, finally, slumping her shoulder. "Onee-chan. I think he's in Alfheim."

A few customers still bristled as they heard the honorific, the young Beast Tamer Silica more than anyone, but did their best to ignore it. Sugu knew why. They coveted Kirito from her, especially Silica, since the young feathery ice dragon owner had viewed Kirito as her own big brother ever since he'd helped her revive her pet, Pina.

Agil leaned his elbows on the counter, scrubbing the glass in his hand with a cleaning cloth as a sudden intense, concentrating look overcame his usually relaxed and kind features. "Really? Why do you think that, Sugu-chan? Is there any specific reason?" All the Originals got like this when that particular subject came up. After all, it had only been two weeks. The whereabouts of Kirito was a sore chat for them. As it was for Sugu. She hadn't seen her brother in two years. These people had spent those two years with him.

The raven haired girl nodded, suddenly bent on showing them she mattered, she cared, that she was just as brokenhearted as they. They all needed Kirito, so they'd _all_ work to get him back. "Because, Alfheim has Yggdrasil." She told them, as if it should have been obvious by now.

Silica was silent for a moment. "... So? Whats that got to do with—"

"Hold it!" A voice called out. "I think she's actually got something!"

Sugu huffed inwardly, at that voice. It was almost as if it was going to mock her for such an idea, whatever the idea was—since they didn't even _know_ yet. But as she turned around to see the speaker, who was approaching them with a small group of others—his friends—she saw that it wasn't mocking or condescending tone. He was naturally teasing, but caring. You could see it in his eyes.

That was when Sugu, Klein, Agil, and Silica first met the Black Cats of the Full Moon.

* * *

"So, what did you mean about Yggdrasil, Sugu-chan?" Keito asked, smiling slightly at her in reassurance, and the rest of them waited for her to speak.

Keito, Sachi, Sassemaru(known to his friends as Ducker), Philby, and Sev. It turned out they were some of the many people her brother had helped during his time trapped in-game. Actually, they were some of the first. They were the first guild Kirito had joined, as well. Unfortunately, Sugu and the others were saddened to hear of their fate. Keito felt guilty for saying such things to Kirito back then, when he'd heard of his guilds deaths, and he knew he had caused the Black Swordsman some grief and emotional pain when he'd jumped—which is why the Black Cats of the Full Moon(BCFM) wished earnestly to find him, so they could make it up and perhaps rejoin the famed fighter as friends.

"Because," Sugu told them, placing her empty glass down, "No ones ever climbed it. No ones ever even made it to the first branch, it's so high. But we all know _somethings _up there. Perhaps it's _someone_."

They were quiet for a long time. No one in the room said a thing, Sugu realized in a flash of embarrassment, that she'd garnered the attention of all of the other in the pub. But it was worth the extra words, right? It was to help Kirito, Kazuto, Onee-chan, her cousin, her brother.

"... I'll notify the Council of that," Argo nodded, her tight curls bouncing, "but I'd like to check myself, too. Maybe you're right. It's one of the few places no ones ever been, and too high for us to reach with flight. Too difficult to reach, far away, and no one's ever been there. Hmm..." The young informant tapped her chin, aware of all the eyes set on her and choosing to ignore them. "I think that'd be a great place to stow away a captive Kirito from the rest of the world, if I was the evil guy, wouldn't it?"

The other's were instantly brought to light with that blunt statement. As they soon realized, it was not the only one to be made, however.

"But there are actually many places in Alfheim like that." A player Sugu had seen many times around Alfheim Online while waiting for her brother to be freed. For a brief moment, Sugu wondered why they were here, but shook the thought from her head and listened to the rest.

"What do you mean?" Klein tugged on his headband that he always wore.

The boy set his wrapped sword onto the counter and tightened one of the covering cloths straps tighter. "I'm just sayin', there's several tall trees like Yggdrasil in Alfheim. Yggdrasil's only the tallest. So to say, Kirito-kun could be held captive at the top of any one of those many trees. And let me tell you," he added seriously, "There's a lot."

Argo kicked at the bottom of a nearby chair in frustration. The boy hefted his weapon onto his shoulder and began his way out of the quieted pub. "I'll tell the Council about your idea for you, Lyfa. Smart thinking, too." He saluted. It wasn't until he was gone that Sugu realized exactly who he'd been. Hat boy had been on of the NPCs of Alfheim before The Programming had occurred and established the Realms' connections. All NPCs were now to be regarded as fellow sentient beings, but many of the human race in Sector 1 downgraded them for their origin, claiming that Humans the superior species. The Sector 1 Government tried to discourage such bashing, but even they couldn't monitor everything.

_So that's where I remember him from... _Sugu thought, watching Agil whisk away her empty glass and refill it.

"We can do it," Klein insisted after a moments silence. "All we need to do is figure out a way to get to the top of one tree, and then we can use that method on the other's until we find the right one."

Sugu shook her head, exasperated. "I said, "_I __think__ he's in Alfheim_." That's it! I can't say for sure! It was an estimated guess!"

"I still say we check Alfheim first." Klein argued. "It's the best bet we've got so far!"

"Using the same method on each tree might work for a while," Argo mused. "But that still leaves room for argument of _how_ exactly we find a way to get up one, an then when we do, what if The USP has a problem with it? I mean, just because this is now Reality, that doesn't mean we don't still have to go by _some _of the basic video game rule. The same technique won't work forever on everything." She pointed out.

Agil sighed, setting down the cup he'd been polishing—it must be the cleanest object in all the Realms right now, he'd scrubbed it so hard. "I'm going to Alfheim myself to check, though. Just in case there is something."

"I agree." Barry Asagaya joined into the conversation suddenly, walking over from a side booth. He gave a wry smile. "I'd also like to inform you all that, as of now, I am in acting command of and overseeing all units in search of Kirito-kun."

"R-Really?" Sugu gasped at the sudden revelation. "Y-You mean... you're from the _Guard_?"

The young, twenty year old man smiled down at her. "Better believe it. Kin fact, I was it's acting Lieutenant back when it was still the Guild of the Blood Oath Knights, in SAO."

"We'll find him." Kieto spoke up, suddenly, a firm, determined look gracing his young face. "We **will**."

"We _have _to." Sachi whispered. "After everything he did for us, we have to."

The room fell silent.

* * *

The man smiled cruelly, watching the young youth before him lie on the ground, gasping for breath. "Do you see now, my boy?" He chuckled. "This pain is what you get when you screw with Reality. When you try to make the world _better_." He emphasized the last word with a crack of the steel-infused whip he carried by his side, and almost laughed outright when the boy clenched his teeth and tried to keep in a scream of pain as the weapon struck his bared back—which was already cut and bleeding.

"Please, _stop_..." The teen gasped the words out shakily, feeling his lungs burn and tighten as if they were full of smoke. He shut his eyes tightly, loathing the enemy that stood over him with a mad grin. He didn't think he'd be able to take much more of this. But he _had _to. Otherwise he'd give up, and then everything he'd worked so hard for would be ruined.

"Oh, no, I don't think I will." The man cackled after he'd paused to pretend to think it over. "After all, we can't stop torturing you until you give us those codes, and that little secret of yours, now can we?"

The teen almost wanted to shout out that "Yes! Yes you can! You can just leave me alone!" but he couldn't seem to muster up the strength to even breath anymore. And if this was only after two weeks, he couldn't imagine what the rest of his time here would be like. He dreaded just thinking about it. But he had to pull through this. The people of New Reality and their future depended on him. He couldn't let them down _now_, of all times!

The man knelt down beside his captive, pulling a broad silver dagger out of a fold in his cloak, smiling as a flash of renewed fear flashed through the teen's eyes. He gently brought his gloved hand forward and cupped his torture subject's face, lifting his chin and tilting his head back so they were looking into each other's eyes. The man smiled, precautiously placing the weapon's needle-sharp point on his neck and dragging it to the left, drawing a a thin line of deep ruby-colored blood. "Now, where we, Kirito-kun?"

**BetaNote: Plot hole...: Why are the gamers separated by games like GGO and ALF? remember they still have their original bodies on earth so why separate them? Unless youre talking about their avatars...then nvm xD**

_**Author's response to Beta Note: **_

_**:) You've seemed to have figured out an accepted answer to your question XD I'll just leave your musings to you, then ^ ^**_


	4. Searching

Inside of every person, there are two sides. One is evil, and the other is of good intent. These two forces war with each other, and the only way we can even halfway banish one is to choose the other ourselves. No one is completely one or the other, which is why we are subjected to the trials of life, and make mistakes even when we try not to. To us, no sane person is completely human; just as no human is completely sane.

And the only difference in this New Reality is that some of us _aren't _human to the core, and even that doesn't make them sane. We all have our problems, big, small, and everything in between. They all catch up to us no matter how long or far we run. One day, we're going to have to face them.

And despite these bare facts, most people _will _run. They'll run away, and tell themselves that they aren't running. They find some way to put those problems toward the back of their minds, yet convince themselves that what they're ding is helping. Even when it's not.

Don't lie to yourself; everyone does it. Even you. Another person we can name but politely choose not to is a young girl named Asuna. She's doing just that, right now—she's been lying to herself for the past week, in fact.

It's about time she stops and faces the facts.

_Bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb_

_Trust. Parry. Thrust, trust. Block. Dodge. Back off? Wait—_

_CLANG!_

Asuna froze, breathing hard. After a few minutes of silence, she straightened up and sheathed her rapier, and stepped down from the raised training area that the Royal Guard had roped off and shaking out her hair, sighing as it fell down her back.

"Asuna."

The teen jumped, squeaking, and spun around only to find that her pink haired friend had been watching her for the entire session, silently. Now she remembered. That hard, calculating stare had begun to feel a bit creepy right before she'd started ignoring the other girl's presence. Now the fact that one of her best friends had been watching Asuna practice her swordplay hit her hard in the chest, and she blushed, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Hey, Lisbeth. What's up?"

"This isn't saving him, you know."

That made her freeze. What was she talking about? What wouldn't save who? Him? Did she mean Kirito? No—she couldn't. Right? Kirito had been almost a taboo subject with Asuna since three days after he disappeared; everyone knew that, right? "Lisbeth, I don't—"

"You do, though." The other interrupted. "I know you do. And what you're doing right now, it's not helping you one bit."

Asuna stressed. "What do you _mea—_"

"You know exactly what I mean!" Lisbeth shouted, clenching her fists to her sides. "Kirito is in trouble—he's _missing_, and you're here training until you drop _every single day_, not even _talking _about him; not discussing where he could be, not mapping out areas to search, not _anything _productive at all! All you do is train, train, train! Practice, practice, practice! You're already a great fighter, Asuna! Use that, and help us look for him instead of wasting away on these _stupid _training grounds!"

"'_Wasting away?'" _Asuna seethed, face red in anger. "I'm not 'wasting away'! I'm getting better! I'm _improving _myself, so that nothing will be in my way when we find him!"

"When?" Lisbeth mocked, forcing her fists behind her and leaning forward slightly. "Don't you mean 'if'? At the rate we're going, well never find him—especially when you're _here_, and not searching with us!"

Asuna's eyes widened. She did _not _just go there! "We will find him! We _will_, Lisbeth! No matter how long it takes me! I'll become the best of the best, and then I'll go after whoever has taken him! I don't _care _how long it takes! I'll make it happen! I'll bring him home! I'll—!"

_SMACK!_

_bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb bbb_

Kirito held in a gulp of air as the blade sliced a clean cut in the skin on his back, squeezing his eyes shut tightly, and curling his hands into weak fists. He was lying on his stomach, bare-chested, sweat causing his skin to stick to the freezing cold stone floor of the dungeon-like room he was kept in, during these small torture sessions.

"A_-_ah_!"_ He mentally cursed himself for that very audible intake of breath, sharp and shaking, as the weapon was swept away from his new wound. The man who stood above him smirked, wiping the blade on a black towel a few feet away, saying nothing. It was times like these, when silence rung between them and Kirito could practically _feel _the other mentally mocking him still, that the young teen probably hated the most. More than the mental and physical abuse, more than the words of hate his captor shouted at him when he became angry—this silence was more or less the worst, to him.

Kirito let the breath out of his lungs as slowly as he could, turning his head away from the other, and pressing his heated cheek to the stone-cold floor beneath him. He probably had a fever—the man didn't clean his wounds very much, and Kirito didn't really remember the last time he had actually _eaten_, though it seemed it had been a long time ago.

"I think I've managed to cut up every part of you!" The man observed, a hint of humor in his tone. "Well," he admonished, "except your face." He bent over him, and traced a finger gently over Kirito's jaw line, sending shivers don the boy's spine, even though Kirito wasn't even able to register them through the pain anymore. "Can't hurt that—its so _pretty_!"

Well there was this, too. When the man got slightly perverted. That shook him up a bit more than the silence, he decided.

"Anyway," the older continued. "I need to give you time to heal so I can continue. Otherwise, your body's just gonna get used to the pain after a while, and most of my methods of torture won't affect you!" He spoke as if that was the worst thing that could ever possibly happen to him—as if he was having to much fun, right now. "So, I'll let you have some fresh air, heal up a bit—don't get ideas, though. You won't be escaping from me! Here, I'll even bandage your wounds!" The man hauled him to his feet, but Kirito didn't think he could stand. After a series of pushing, pulling, dragging, and everything in between, the man managed to get Kirito propped up on a cot about five meters away from where he'd been lying previously.

He kept his mouth clamped shut as the man tended his wounds, and wrapped him tightly from his heels and wrists up to his neck in white bandages. Afterward, he left the room and came back with Kirito's midnight cloak, and a pair of black trousers. Once Kirito was dressed again (apparently the man had decided he didn't need a shirt or shoes), he grabbed the teen, picking him up bridal style, and started out of the dungeon.

Kirito didn't see much, as he had his eyes half lidded from the pain of movement with his head resting limply against the man's chest, but he decided they _had _to be in some sort of castle or something, and that they were traveling upward—then to the side until they reached somewhere where Kirito could feel wind and sunlight tickling the little skin he had exposed. That's about when he fell unconscious, though he did manage to get the notion that he was in some sort of cage before he went under.

The man grinned viciously as he bent over to rest Kirito onto the bed in that larger-than-life birdcage, laughing to himself when black tinted, translucent wings shimmered into existence on the teen's back, and his ears lengthened until they tapered off into points—much smaller than what was normal for the gamer's Avatars in this world, but slightly longer than a human's in the least—once he'd been exposed fully to this Realm's atmosphere. Other than these, Kirito remained unchanged.

The man patted his captive roughly on the head, his smirk widening when the teen remained unresponsive. "Sleep well, Kirito-kun! It won't be much longer until I get what I want, you know."

_bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb_

Asuna's eyes widened, her head jerking to the side as she felt the force of Lisbeth's blow, her cheek stinging as the other's hand connected and caused her to stumble slightly to the left. She froze for a second, before turning slowly to face her fried again, mind succumbing to disbelief. As soon as she properly realized what had happened, she straightened up and met Lisbeth's glare ferociously.

"What the _hell _was that!?" She growled, hand instinctively landing on the hilt of her rapier despite the fact she was in the presence of a friend—or, what she had _thought _as a friend.

"What was it for?" Lisbeth asked, her tone transmitting that she thought the answer to the question was as obvious as the color of the sky. "You need to straighten out your priorities, Asuna. We don't know where Kirito is. We don't know who took him. We don't know how, or even _why_. We don't know how serious the situation he is in is or will become! What if he needs saving _now_? And you're _here_ training until you drop _every single day—_what then? You need to stop lying to yourself Asuna. You don't have this all under control."

The other girl dropped to the ground, crossing her legs under her and letting her shoulders slump, anger forgotten. "I... Y-You're right." she sighed. "I haven't been doing much of anything to help at all. I..." She looked up, suddenly determined. "I'm sorry, Lisbeth! I will now start trying to help as much as I can, and do my best to find Kirito-kun! I promise!"

Her friend—for that's what she really _was—_nodded, smiling, and offered her a leather gloved hand. "And don't give up, no?"

Asuna accepted it, and Lisbeth pulled her to her feet. "Never, you're right. But, I'm tired, right now." She sent a wary look toward the blacksmith, and Lisbeth laughed heartily. "Yes, get your rest. You'll need it, I think."

Asuna nodded sheepishly. "Right... Then, see you tomorrow!"

She left, waving back at Lisbeth, before slowly making her way over to the Training ground's private Crystal Port, and teleporting to her home—she'd left her father, who had been understanding but sad to see her go—and had moved into an apartment in Alfheim. She didn't think she'd be able to face her cabin on the 22nd Floor of Aincrad until she had Kirito back at her side, and she didn't believe that that would be a completely happy and home-felt environment until they had Yui back with them, together as a family just like old-times.

_Wait_, she froze. _Yui..._

Would it be? Well, in this New Reality, it seemed like anything could happen, so... But Yui had disappeared back then in a similar manner to Kirito's vanishing—though Kirito had said he'd downloaded Yui into his NERVEgear... So... it could be that...

Asuna reached down and fingered "Yui's Heart" that dangled from a chain at her neck. Tomorrow, she decided. She'd see about it tomorrow. It wouldn't be right to wake up anyone for help at this time.

New Reality was a peculiar thing. There were no time differences in Sector 1 anymore. Though, you could say the time of day changed slightly depending on the Realm you were in, it wasn't so drastic as it could be noon in Aincrad, but midnight in the Senshi Realm. It would mostly likely only be small differences—such as, it would be 12:00 AM in Aincrad, and 1:00 PM in Alfheim. Actually, there was a time table displayed on a drop down menu from the Map selection on a gamer's menu. Aincrad was the first listed. Then Alfheim would be one hour ahead of Aincrad. Then Sector 1 (Earth) would be one hour ahead of Alfheim—such as in a way that, if it was 12:00 AM in Aincrad, it would be 2:00 PM on Earth. The Senshi Realm came after Sector 1's time, and so on. It was slightly difficult to get used to, but it had all become part of routine life in New Reality after a week or so, to all inhabitants of The UPS. Though, they were discovering new features of Life everyday.

Asuna was just slipping under her covers when she heard a small beeping sound within her mind. That was the thing about personal notification linked to your "Core"—or sent to your Avatar menu. Only you could hear the sounds when you were about to receive something, such as mail, gifts, requests or alerts. It was quite handy, but often cursed by gamers who were woken from sleep, or lost concentration toward something due to the sometimes irritating noises.

Sure enough, a menu popped into existence before her, and she clicked the blue "yes" option, seeing as it was a message from her friend Agil.

She sat back into her pillow, sliding her legs through the covers of her bed until she was in a comfortable position and read the content. She used her finger to scroll to the end, but sat up quickly with a gasp as a picture came into view.

_That can't be—no, could it_? She asked herself silently as the screen reflected off her eyes. For a while, she sat frozen, unmoving—as if any slight disturbance would make the image disappear forever, along with the person that was captured in it—that person with his hands on those golden bars, face almost covered in shadows though it was clear who it was.

"K-Kirito."

_bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb_

The bell above the door dinged, and Agil glanced up from the cup he'd been polishing to see a young girl, in warriors dress with a rapier positioned at her hip and long, golden-brown hair with red streaks due to the summer sun of Aincrad stepped over the threshold. He'd known he'd be seeing her soon, after that message he'd sent. In fact, he'd been slightly surprised she hadn't shown up on his doorstep last night, minutes after he'd sent it, with her rapier drawn and demanding to know more information.

"You're early." He chose to comment instead, setting the glass on the rack behind him and reaching for another.

Asuna scoffed as she approached the bar. "Why? No one else comes here." She glanced around the empty pub. Though, they both knew that that statement wasn't true—_The Swordsman_ was very popular, and also happened to be the meeting place the rest of the Originals frequently gathered at. Not to mention half the dishes were invented or designed by Asuna herself, with the ingredients varying from each Realm.

"It's full at night." He admonished, feigning hurt as he decided to play along. Asuna smiled, tossing the backpack she'd been carrying on the ground underneath the counter and sat atop the bar stool next to it. Then her face turned serious. "What was with that photo?" She asked, deciding to get straight to the point, it seemed.

Agil handed her her usual glass of ginger ale mixed with a shot of vanilla, and walked over to reach under the counter. "Have you heard of this?" He asked, sliding a case over to her across the surface of the table top.

She reached out a hand to stop the case before it slid past her and gave it a once-over. "A newscast download?" The young teen nodded. "Yeah, I've heard of it, why? What's it got to do with Kirito-kun?"

A newscast download was relatively new to the Realms, but it was fairly cheap to purchase at any Market, and almost everyone had one, though Asuna herself hadn't given it any thought yet. Once you bought it, you take it out of your Inventory and sync it with your Avatar Menu. Then, your main menu would have seven selection, the newest being a direct link to any newscasts you choose to follow, and tabloids—if you wanted. It would be a good thing to have if you wanted to keep tabs on certain events or discussions.

"I was taking a look at some posts from the Rangers—the gamers who attempt to get to unexplored regions of Alfheim—last night, and found a unit that tried to fly high enough to reach the top of Yggdrasil." Asuna straightened up at this, and Agil knew at once he had her attention. "They didn't even reach the lowest branch, but they got pretty high—and took some pictures." He motioned to the cast in Asuna's hand. She looked down, studying it closer. "They posted them on some ad-casts for their Ranger's blog, and I saw that." Turning the case over, Asuna found a piece of paper taped to the back—a printout of the picture he'd sent her last night.

"It's Kirito." She assured. "But—he looks a bit... different. I can't see him clear enough to get any facts, but I think he's got pointed ears; not as pointed as Alfheim natives, or our Avatars in that Realm, but they're definitely pointed." She sighed, leaning back. "And I thought I saw some black wings—so I figured his self in Alfheim is a Spriggan, but I can't be sure." She finished, looking up almost dejected. "That's about all I've got, though."

Agil tightened his grip on the glass, scrubbing harder. "That's what the Rangers were so hyped up about, in that blog post. They said they'd found the "Lost Programmer," and now all the other units are raving on about getting together sometime and throwing a search and rescue party."

She shook her head. "That's stupid, not to mention dangerous. We don't know what's up there yet, besides the blurry images they photographed, and these aren't much to go by." Asuna tapped the object in her hands with a filed nail.

Agil took the case away and placed it under the counter once more. "What do you think we should do?" He asked.

She shrugged. "I can't say anything for sure, yet, but I think we should hold a meeting with Barry and the search units next Friday and see what we can come up with." She turned to face him. "You wouldn't mind putting the word out there, would you?"

Agil shook his head. "I'll be right on it. What time?"

After scheduling a meeting for the Royal Guard and the police forces working together in search of Kirito, Asuna wandered out of pub and fingered her teleport crystal. She'd tried teleporting once without being in the range of a Crystal port, but it didn't work. She guessed that was the way Kirito had programmed it to work. He probably hadn't wanted a repeat of the crime they'd solved together in SAO. She supposed that was for the best. Actually, she found that more and more crimes had been prevented with the New Reality. The UPS truly was a work of art. Kirito really outdid himself with this. Asuna found herself wondering if he'd had any help...

She shook her head, walking toward the center of Tokyo to the nearest Crystal Port. No, Kirito had to have been alone. Right?

She huffed, sitting down suddenly on a stone bench that had been newly built on the cleaner streets of New Reality's Tokyo city, holding her head in her hands. Gods, where _was _he?

_Bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb_

**Oh, dear god, I'm finally finished with this! Thanks to _Randomftw42_ for your beta'ing on recent chapters, and to my dear Kohmi (_akinos_) for your seemingly undying loyalty and astounding mind, and _ScreamOfTruth_, my dear, we shall commence in the coating of waffles unto my house ^ ^ Much fun~**

**I know, I sucked at writing this chapter. Too fast paste, maybe. I don't know. I really would appreciate it if you guys told me what you thought, so I could make it better!~**

**Anyway, I hope you all like it, please review and all that glorious shizz, thanks!**

**Now...**

**Waffles. Yup. They're amazing.**

**Oh! And you should all probably meet my personal plot bunny, Steeve. Say hello, Steeve.**

**Steeve: *waves* Hewow!**

**Me: *squee* My _GOD_, Steeve! You—you're absolutely _adorable! *_glomps***

**Anyway, yeah. Review!~`**

**~EpikalStorms***

_**P.S. Hey, hey! Kohmi! I'm dedicating all future PostNotes in all Black Swordsman chapters to you, mmkay? Just thought you ought to know beforehand, 'n all. Kay. Anyway, I'd like to thank you for your awesome ideas! We, my friend, work totally well together! I can't wait to see what the future will bring us as we plot and scheme! Keep your mind open for more ideas on Ed's identity, okay? Thanks!**_


	5. Flashback and Calm

She rubbed her thumb across the edge of the page, staring longingly at what was shown on it. His features were exactly as she dreamed them every single night since she'd woken from that death game. His eyes still beautiful, those deep black pools staring back at her full of emotion—full of love, full of fear, full of hate, and kindness, pity, sorrow. Those long, silky bangs, black as midnight, but still with a twilight glow to them. That face that almost looked like a girl's—but somehow, you could always tell the difference. That pale complexion, yet so full of color—the color of life, that he was alive, he was there, next her her, she could touch him with her hands, hug him, feel the warmth his body let out—

But all of that, she couldn't feel right now. She could still see his eyes, no matter how blurry the picture was, but they were so empty, so lifeless, so dull. Like he'd already lost hope. His hair hung flatly in his eyes, limp. She couldn't even see the shine. He was leaning forward, with his forehead resting against the gold bars of the cage he was in, staring passively out, no emotion upon his face, which was slightly thinner than that last she'd seen him, but not so that you'd notice it—not unless you looked for it. It was white—pale, devoid of all the color that he used to give off light rays of sunshine. Though, she could see one color. His face was flushed, like he was feverish, or sick. But why? What happened to him up there? What _was _happening to him? Him, her Kirito...

She could only remember one time she'd seen his face that color, that flushed, that ill shade of red. It hadn't been as bad as in this picture, but she could remember what had happened then...

"_Thank you, Asuna-sama." The captain of the last squad of floor clearers told her, bowing, before he rejoined his friends a few meters away at one of the many campfires their forces had set up for the night. She'd just finished taking in their reports. They weren't looking very bright, the hoards of Drunken Apes they'd have to get through to get to the boss's numbers were multiplying faster than before. They'd soon be outnumbered three to one. As she went over possible plans in her mind, Asuna looked around the large campsite with it's small groups collected at certain points, and realized something was off._

_She stood up and began to wander around, checking up on the units and soldiers, trying to figure out what it was. Soon, Heathcliff called for the small crowds to gather together, and a group of clearers spread out, distributing parcels of food to each person. Asuna nodded at one of them and accepted her own meal, thanking the boy. He nodded, moving on to the next person after giving her a small bow of respect. Asuna frowned, still feeling that something wasn't right as she sat down on a blanket that had been spread out, next to Heathcliff, and his Lieutenant, Craven. Casting another glance around the camp, she bit into her loaf of bread after smearing some cream on it and tuned into the conversation her guild Leader was having concerning the militia-like force that the Drunken Apes presented._

"_They might have taken up a larger scale of intelligence than the last floor," Craven mused, stroking a invisible beard on his almost teenage-like face, even though Asuna knew he must have been somewhere between twenty five and thirty. "I noticed in those last attacks that they seemed to be in almost arrow-like formations."_

_Heathcliff nodded. "Yes, I must agree." Suddenly, his pale eyes brightened, and he turned toward the other man with a calculating expression on his gaunt face. "Do you suppose that the monsters and animals grow smarter each other floor or so, until they're almost brought up to an, you could say, AI-like intelligence?"_

_Asuna huffed, swirling a finger in her tin of beef stew. "Perhaps they do. But unlike them, we're completely sentient beings. We'll come up with something. Though, their formational attacks to remind me of that scene from the DRRR anime. You know, that one set in Ikebukuro, with all of the color gangs?" As they nodded, Heathcliff with a rather territorial gleam in his eye, she continued. "Well, remember how they would heard them into the allies, and then mug them when they have their backs turned, or when they were backed up against the walls, and—"_

"_It's a trap!" Craven shouted out, catching on immediately. The clearers nearby in the groups that surrounded their campfire turned around to look at the sudden exclamation, and the man shrunk down, face red, as he received many stared and odd looks. "A trap," he continued in a lower voice, leaning forward to look his two comrades in the eye. "They hide down low—of course they'd know the forest area better than us—then, when we come along, following after slowly, and spread out—"_

"_And surround us, attacking when we least expect it!" Heathcliff finished, a proud look gracing his face. "Of course. Simple, yet genius. It's such a cliché trick, I'd have never thought of it!"_

_Asuna shook her head. "But what about their respawn? It's different from last we saw, faster. Their numbers are growing larger by the hour, I'd wager. By morning tomorrow, we'll be vastly outnumbered."_

_Craven sunk down, until he laid on his side. "I say we camp here for a few days at least, maybe less. Let them calm down, then when they don't view us as the immediate threat, we slip past them all quiet-like until we make it a few miles away, then we break for it."_

_Heathcliff considered. "That way we'd avoid any casualties, as well. We're already low on men, not to mention all the supplies we lost in their last attack..." The older man nodded, setting down the tin of pasta he'd been eating. "Yes, that seemed like the smartest thing to do as of now. Craven, would you mind taking a group of men and positioning lookouts throughout the camp? Please choose volunteers who are willing to stay up during the night to keep watch." The Lieutenant nodded, stretching in an almost painful-looking manner as he stood and held back a loud yawn, before clambering away to gather up nightwatchmen._

_Heathcliff turned to her. "Asuna-san, could you do a short patrol around the camps perimeter? Check to see if there's any lingering dangers we should be made aware of?" The young teen nodded solemnly, reaching over to grab her sheathed rapier. She stood, still feeling uneasy—that something was out of place? The girl disappeared into the canopy surrounding the clearing they'd stationed their camp in, and was immediately on alert as she circled the camp, looking out for any sings of trouble. Gradually, the sounds of the camp—the conversations between the clearers, the tinkling of tins and glassware as the front liners prepared for sleep. _

_She was about halfway through with her rounds, having passed a small stream a few minutes before, when she spotted something other than trees, bushes and vegetation. Immediately on alert, hand moving toward the hilt of her rapier, she advanced, taking in the sudden sight of a black and shadowy form that was curled up at the base of a large oak tree. Her first thought was that it was a lone Drunken Ape, but the shape didn't fit, and it was far too small. Then her mind wandered to any other creatures that they'd encountered in the forested 53rd floor, and she was so focused on identifying the form before her, she didn't realize that she'd already sidled up to it's side. However, what she found made her stop wondering about what and where, and more about why and how? _

"_Kirito?" She whispered, kneeling next to the prone figure of her friend. Was he sleeping? He didn't move when she spoke his name. Why was he so far away from the campsite, anyway? And alone? What is he, an idiot? There were attacking Drunken Apes wandering near—he knew it, too!_

"_Kirito!" She said, slightly louder, but still not a shout. Who knew if there was a group of Apes nearby? Still, the teen didn't move._

_Upon closer inspection, she realized that, no, he wasn't asleep—if his irregular breathing was anything to go by. She'd just started to wonder why he wasn't responding, then, when she noticed that his hands were clamped tightly over his ears, palms pressed into the sides of his head, and his eyes were shut tightly._

_Frowning, Asuna began to grow fearful. Was Kirito hurting? That shouldn't be possible—they were in a video game, and the pain factor was reduced greatly for all of the players. So if it wasn't pain, what was it?_

"_Kirito!" She stressed, shaking his shoulder a bit. His eyes shot open, and he let out a strangled gasp. Asuna leaped backwards a ways when the boy sat up as if he was trying to avoid drowning. She stood up, looking down at him. His eyes were wide, the pupils a bit dilated, and his face shone quite pale. Was it from shock? "Come now," She joked with a small smile. "Did I frighten you, the Great Kirito?"_

_However, she went back to frowning worriedly when he didn't answer. "Kirito," she called him again, kneeling back down at his side. "Are you okay?" She touched his knee._

_He winced, swallowing , and looked up at her as if he couldn't remember who she was, or where they were. That look scared her, and Asuna's frown deepened._

_He opened his mouth. "... A-Asuna...!" He shook his head and sat straighter, glancing around. "U-Um..."_

"_You idiot!" She glared, grabbing him by the shoulders. "I thought you were hurt! Don't ever do that again! Answer me when I'm talking to you, dammit!"_

_He didn't answer for a moment, letting his eyes wander around their surrounding, fleetingly, looking anywhere but at her. His breaths quickened, and his hands slowly moved back up to cup around his ears. "I-I..."_

_Asuna's hands slipped from his shoulders, and her expression softened. "Kirito." His gaze snapped back to her. "Are you alright?"_

_With a last glance at her—she saw an almost apologizing look in his obsidian eyes—he shut his eyes tightly once more, pressing his palms into his ears. His jaw slackened a bit, and he leaned back into the tree at his back—but Asuna sighed, pulling him into an embrace, and let his head fall against her chest._

_They sat like that for a while, and all Asuna could hear was the sound of their mingled breathing, until she felt Kirito fall limply against her. She frowned again—she realized she'd been doing that a lot lately, since she'd found out about the Drunken Ape problem, it seemed—and reached down to shake him awake again. It wouldn't do to fall asleep in the middle of the forest here, alone, no matter how comfortable she wouldn't admit their position was._

_He took in a deep breath and sat up warily, blinking tiredly. Asuna sat up and titled her head at him. "What was that?" She asked._

"_U-um," His voice shook. "It's..."_

_She frowned again. "Kirito, if I keep frowning like this, I'm going to get wrinkles."_

_He sunk down into the trunk of the oak, sighing deeply. "It's... something I do w-when I'm scared..." Suddenly, he started to speak faster, giving her no room to respond. "I know it's weird, but I do. I sometimes have, you know, sudden panic attacks and such, and the only way I can calm down enough to where I'm aware of the stuff around me is when I hear my heartbeat. But just my heartbeat, and not anything else—so I put my hands over my ears and listen to my palms—" He blushed. "I—uh, b-because I can hear my pulse from my palms since they're close to my wrists and all, and—"_

_She held up a hand, stopping him mid-sentence. His mouth clamped shut unexpectedly, and she started speaking. "It's alright, Kirito-kun. You don't have to explain it all to me, I just wanted to know if you were alright now." She eyed him. "You are, aren't you?"_

_He sighed again, nodding his head slowly. "I—Yeah. I'm okay now. It's over."_

_Asuna took a deep breath. "Alright then. W-We should probably get back to camp... I still need to finish my rounds..."_

"_Okay..."_

_They stood up, and began walking slowly the rest of the way, Asuna completing her patrol, and Kirito keeping her silent company. Just as they were about to head back again, Kirito took in a breath and said, "To sleep, too."_

_She stopped, turning to look at him. "Huh?"_

_He looked down. "It helps me sleep, too. When I can't. That's why I had my eyes closed so tight. I used to be an insomniac..." He trailed off, putting a hand to his head and staggering a bit._

_Asuna leaped forward to catch him. "Kirito! What's wrong?"_

"_Nnngh..." He groaned, panting heavily as she helped him to his feet. She peered into his face, and saw his cheeks flushed a dull, almost apple-red color. His eyes were a bit hazy, and his hair fell into his eyes, shadowing his face so she couldn't make anything out._

_Asuna threw one of his arms over her shoulders and almost carried him back to camp. When she entered the clearing, almost half the clearers were asleep, and Kirito's head was bowed, his breathing labored._

"_Heathcliff!" She called. "Craven!"_

_They looked up at her, and surprised looks fluttered across their faces, even Heathcliff's, who strangely never seemed to be surprised. But they quickly stood and came over, helping her lay Kirito on the wool blanket they'd been sitting on. The front liners around them that were still awake watched from their spots, frowns upon their faces._

"_What's wrong with him?" Craven asked, a worried tone to his question. Asuna understood, he'd grown a bit close to Kirito during the past few weeks._

_Heathcliff studied Kirito's actions closely, shaking his head. "I—well, it's just a theory, but..."_

"_...Well, what is it?" Asuna grew impatient incredibly quick. "Spit it out!"_

_He cast her a strange look, but continued on. "Something, to get this sort of reaction from his in-game avatar... Something must be going on with his body—the one back in the real world." he concluded._

_Silence rung throughout the clearing as they absorbed that information._

"_So..." Asuna began. "He's... maybe sick? If that sickness hurts his body back in reality..."_

_Heathcliff nodded. "His mind will most likely catch on, and he'll feel the pain here as well."_

_Craven sat down with a thump. "H-He's in a hospital, though—we all are—so it should go by quick and all, right? Be-because, the doctors will take care of him..."_

_Asuna felt the familiar sting of tears well up in her eyes and she brought a hand to her face. "Unless is a sickness that they can't treat yet—"_

_Heathcliff cut her off. "I'm sure it's nothing serious. But he's here right now, with us. All we can do to help is try to make him feel comfortable as best we can. Even if it's not his real body right now, it's where most of his senses are at the moment, so we should at least be able to numb the pain."_

_By that time, a few more clearers had woken up, and those gathered around heard this explanation. They nodded, moving around the camp, gathering supplies closer together._

"_I heard there was stream nearby this clearing. Asuna-san, is this true?" Heathcliff looked up at her. She nodded, remembering seeing one during her patrol. Her leader looked around. "You there, Klarksin, please go fetch some cold water from there, Asuna will give you directions." He pointed at another nearby clearer. "And you, mind bringing me that spare blanket? Kirito-kun is shivering."_

_With that, they got busy, and Heathcliff continued to give orders. Craven was soon found expressing his gratitude that they'd already planned to stay camped there for a few days anyway. Though, Asuna found herself wondering why Heathcliff kept gaining on a slightly guilty expression whenever he looked Kirito's way._

Of course, they all found out later who Heathcliff really was. Kayaba. Asuna felt slightly triumphant that he'd felt guilty for causing him real pain—even if it wasn't completely direct. At least—well, that showed he hadn't been void of a conscience, right? He should feel guilty, this mess was all his fault. But, if it hadn't been for Kayaba, Asuna would have never met Kirito. So, she guessed she owed him some thanks as well. That did not sit well with her, but even she could not deny the fact that Akihiko Kayaba's selfish decisions made the way for today's state of Reality possible.

Lisbeth tugged the photo out of her friend's hand, wrapping her free arm around Asuna's shoulders. "Hey now. Don't go being like that! We'll find him soon, you'll see."

Asuna smiled softly, but didn't say anything. Soon, her friends left her apartment for the day, and she lay in her bed silently staring at the ceiling. Slowly, she brought her hands up to the sides of her head, and pressed her palms into her ears.

_Bh-bmmp. Bh-bmmp._

_Bh-bmmp. Bh-bmmp._

She shut her eyes tightly, and imagined her back pressed against the soft bark circling the trunk of the huge oak tree. She let the hypnotizing beat of her own heart lull her to sleep, just like she knew Kirito had done many, many times throughout his life as well. He may even be doing it now. Was he scared? She was. She was scared for him. But that wouldn't last long. Because she'd find him. She knew she would.

_Bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb_

Kirito inhaled a deep, shuttering breath, closing his head as he rested his head back into the bed he was currently lying in. It was soft, and smelled very clean—a fast step away from what he'd experienced earlier, in the dungeons. From what he gathered, he was in some sort of very large _birdcage_, though the sense(if there was any) of that was completely lost on him. He was bandaged from his heels to his neck—it looked as his the bandages were trying to make up for the shirt he was currently lacking. They also covered his arms as well. His hands, too, like fingerless gloves. It made sense in a way. His body ached from all the cuts and bruises he'd gained from his captor. All he wore now was black trousers, and his signature midnight black long jacket.

He hadn't taken the time to view any more of his surroundings, instead curling up into a tight ball and tugging the jacket tightly around his shoulders, fists clenching the fabric like it was his only lifeline. Perhaps the soft breeze that filtered through the bars—he was outside, after all—was suppose to be comforting when paired with the warm beams of sunlight that peaked through with it, but all he felt was cold as the UV rays' attributes were lost on him. Somehow, it was unbelievably freezing, and he had no doubt that—though he didn't have a clue how—this feeling was the work of his kidnapper. What was his name, anyway? Kirito hadn't even found out yet. All he knew was that this was the price he had to pay for messing with reality. The Universal System Program, while being his minds creation, worked in mysterious ways that even he didn't fathom completely. It seemed to work tightly with some sort of Equivalent Exchange, however—such as, he was able to change Reality for the better in exchange for being hurt and tortured for an indefinite amount of time, away from help and friends. It seemed fair, no matter how he looked at it. To him, at least.

Although... He'd thought he had to be rescued, or he wouldn't be leaving this place at all. Instead, his captor was either a bit dense, or he _wanted_ Kirito to be able to escape on his own. Why?

It was the code. Or the password. The one that opened the door to the cage. Maybe the man who hurt him wanted to play some sort of game—that made sense. He was a bit on the... insane side, at least. He watched every time as the man entered the code into the small device attached to the wall when he left. You wouldn't be able to see the pad if you looked at it head on, but Kirito caught the code and memorized it, by looking at it backwards, turned away from the entrance and staring indirectly at the mirror set into the side of the cage. The pad of numbers was seen clearly in the mirror's reflection, the blurry effect of vision block(one of the Alfheim Realm's more difficult spells that only a being at the magical level of a Lord or Lady—or higher—could cast) completely gone. Apparently that certain magic didn't work on reflections. If his captor knew that, then Kirito could only guess it _was_ a game—that the unstable man wanted him to escape the cage, only to get lost in the castle, which he didn't know the layout of. Even if he did manage to get out of the barrier surrounding the large, majestic looking establishment, Kirito didn't know if he could maneuver his way out of wherever he was to the nearest Crystal Port. Then there was the slight problem of, well, _not even having a transport crystal_ on his person, and that fact that he didn't even know if there _were_ Crystal Ports on this side of the Realm. Alfheim, from what he remembered from his Programming, only had them in the cities, towns and villages—sometimes crossroads and intersections—wherever travelers gathered frequently and such. For all he knew, which was not much, admittedly, the castle he was imprisoned in could very well be in the middle of a vast, large, and uncharted wilderness.

It really just seemed...hopeless.

Kirito unclenched his fists, letting the front of his coat go. He blinked warily at his surroundings, sighing when his vision got slightly blurred. He was crying? He seemed to be doing that a lot, lately. And it didn't appear to be from the heavy amount of pain he was constantly in. He'd gotten used to that after a while. Especially after he'd been surprised to find out his wounds hadn't healed, even after that long amount of time he'd spent in the dungeon. Apparently, the dungeon was one of the "Zones" in the Realms that nullified a certain ability, object, or technique. It seems like the dungeon's Zone nullified healing, which really sucked for him.

He shakily brought his hands up to his ears, pressing his palms against them. The beat he hurt was quick, and it was only then did he notice he was hyperventilating. He forced himself to calm down, and felt his eyes fall shut when he heard his heartbeat slow.

_Bh-bmmp..._

_Bh-bmmp..._

_Bh-bmmp... _

_Bh-bmmp..._

The time between the beats was a little too long for his liking, but that was slightly expected from the condition he was in at the moment. He sighed once more, knowing he had to face the truth for once. He didn't like it one bit, but he knew it wouldn't do him any good to ignore the facts.

He was...scared. Kirito, the Black Swordsman, first Beater of SAO, one of the greatest and most famed solo players of the front lines, was _scared_. Terrified, even.

"_Kami_," He whispered, choking, eyes shut tight. "I just want someone to _save_ me..."

**Alright. Virtual cookie prize to anyone who can figure out who [Craven] is! Hint: His was the nameless POV in the first chapter (not to be confused with the Prologue, mind you), and He's shown up in every chapter except for chapter 4, and was only introduced in chapter 3. Now, see if you can figure it out, shouldn't be too hard ^ ^**

**Please note that this chapter has not been Beta'ed yet. Thanks.**

**So, we still don't know who the evil dude who kidnapped our poor, poor dear Kirito is. So far, I've been calling him 'Ed". Of course, that's not his actual _name_, but I really don't know myself, yet. If anyone has any ideas, or awesome villains that would fit this nutcase's persona, please PM me, or leave a review! Ed needs an identity, people!**

**Aw, poor Kirito! He seems so void of hope and assurance, now! I just wanna HUG him.. *sniff* **

**Anyways, love ya! Please Review!~**

**~EpikalStorms***


	6. Decisions and Moving In, Revival

He was broken. This man... this evil, corrupt, mad man had broken him. Into bits and pieces he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to gather up again, much less puzzle back together.

_Listen to me._

He hurt, physically, mentally—and he just couldn't _take _that. What would you expect, though? He really was only just a child. Nearing adulthood, maybe, but just child. A child who'd lost two years of their life in a society vastly different from the one they'd been raised in.

_Can you hear me?_

What would you have done? Faced with things no child should be thrown into. Not even most adults would have been able to stand up to those fears that he'd gone against. Yet, the whole time, he'd stood strong. Or, he'd tried to.

_Please, please._

Murder. Betrayal. Hurt. Hopelessness. Much more, too. Are you string? Could you face these? He'd been targeted. Targeted for helping people. Or...trying. Most would just push him away. Why? They didn't think he'd be able to help? Or were they just too lost in their own _hopelessness_ that they could reach out to grab his outstretched hand—the one he'd always been offering?

_Is anyone there?_

There were some, however, who did accept his hand. They'd allowed him to pull them out of their darkest pits of sadness, hurt, pain, and sorrow. He'd guided them through tough times, and then had left to go help others once they'd gotten back on their own too feet in a solid walk. Occasionally talking to him, sending him messages to see how he was faring. Typical things that friends would do.

_Somebody, please..._

But, where were those people now? Those friends? Were they looking for him? Yes, they would. They'd try. He knew that. They cared about him, they knew he'd do the same if they were in this position. But, were they aware of how..._terrible_ it was? How terrible was it, though? Did he hurt?

_Save me, anyone, save me—_

No. Maybe they didn't know. Right now, though, the only thing he could actually do was just lie there, hoping they were somewhere in their search, hoping they were on their way, hoping someone was coming, hoping they were _looking_.

_Please... it **hurts**._

Because, though he was strong—in their eyes, and _his_, perhaps—he was still only just a child. Right now, he didn't know what to do. This man was insane. Hungry for what? Was it power? Control? He probably couldn't tell. He never really did listen when the person spoke to him, in that cheerful tone—mocking him.

_It's too hot..._

They were his friends, though, no? They cared, they'd risk much to help him—he was so _sure_... Except, each hour, minute, day, second, week he was here—he'd stopped counting forever ago—that hope dwindled, so much.

_I'm not okay._

Would they really find him? And if they did, would they reach him on time? What if they were too late? Human beings could only do so much for each other, even in this New Reality. And humans leaned more toward the choice of helping themselves, and letting others alone, to rot, to hurt, to suffer—while they were off good, happy, yet ungrateful to even what their selfishness got them in riches. Would his friends be like that? Take these new systems of worlds for themselves and leave him to rot?

_It's too cold..._

This man, this mad man, this monster. He really scared him. He hurt him, mentally—physically. This insane beast had broken him, stretched him out—until he was thinned to the point where he was so sure he would just _snap_. Sometimes, he was afraid he'd catch the man's insanity. Was such a disease of the mind even contagious?

_I don't want to die._

**SAO**

Kirito blinked as the bright morning sun reflected off of the golden bars of the cage. He'd just woken up to the sound of the gate of his prison banging open, so he knew his captor was here with him now. He kept his eyes closed, making sure his breathing was controlled at a slow pace, pretending to still be asleep.

The mattress sunk suddenly, but Kirito made no move. Arms wrapped around him and dragged him into a siting position, and he felt his head come to rest against something solid. A cheerful voice rang out, then. "Good morning, Kirito-kun! Did you sleep well?"

Kirito blinked open his eyes warily, then moved them up to see his captors beaming down at him happily. The grin almost sent shivers through him.

"I need you to get a good nights sleep, so that you heal properly." The man went on. Kirito still didn't know his identity—but in here, he called himself the Fairy King Oberon, which had Kirito deduct that he was in the Realm of Alfheim. "Then, we can start our daily torture sessions again! Won't that be fun? Of course, we could be doing something else—Oh, if _only_ you told me The Programming codes..." The man sighed wistfully.

Kirito said nothing. He'd stopped speaking altogether about three days ago. Or, he thought it had been three days. He'd stopped keeping track of the time a _very long_ time ago, so he wasn't too sure.

The man sighed in exasperation. "Aw, Kirito-kun!" He whined. "Why don't you speak to me, anymore? It's no fun with one-sided conversations!" He held him to his chest tighter. "C'mon," He cooed. "I want to hear your lovely voice again, my little Programmer."

Kirito made no sound. He didn't even move. He was lifeless.

"Hn." The man released him, smiling wryly. "You're no fun." He let Kirito fall back onto the bed again, the side of hi head pressing into the soft covers. The man flopped into the steel chair that sat next to the lone table—the only other pieces of furniture in the cage besides the bed. He was watching his victim with a curious gaze, frowning thoughtfully for a few moment.

Kirito wondered what he was thinking, before he noticed the stinging sensation that irritated his eyes, and the cold trails of wetness that ran down his face, gathering to the right side of his chin, and dripping onto the blanket that he was lying on. He realized, without any true emotion, that he was crying. What for? Was he sad? Was he hurt? He couldn't feel anything...

After a moment of silence, the man began to chuckled. "Oh. My poor, poor Programmer." He stood up from the chair and moved back to sitting on the bed, gathering Kirito in his arms. "Why are your crying, Kirito-kun? Are you sad?"

Was he? He didn't know. And if he was, he didn't know why. That frustrated him slightly—though he'd begun to not even care if he showed weakness in front of his captor weeks ago. Or, _had_ it been weeks? He didn't know that, either.

The man let him go, sighing. "Ah well. I bet you must be hungry. I shall go get you some food..." Then, he sent Kirito a wink. "I hope you feel better when I get back, my little Programmer!" When had he started to call him that, again? Kirito watched, almost uninterested, as the man entered the passcode in again, making the bars slide up, allowing him exit. As usual, the air around the digital lock was blurry, thick, and hazy.

After the man had left, Kirito pressed his face fully into the blanket, letting the fabric soak up the tears that had finally stopped flowing. He lifted his hands up to his head, pressing his palms against his ears forcefully to block out the singing birds, and the calm whooshing sound of the breeze. The steady rhythm of his own heart beat erratically in his ears. That's when he realized why he'd been crying—not sadness, not pain; fear.

He was scared. And... he'd lost hope. More hope—it was gone. Not all, just most. But it was gone.

_We both know the Programmer can't stand being away from his kidnapper for long, don't we? _The man had once said to him, mockingly. And, what was worse, Kirito knew he was right. If the man didn't come for these daily visits, he knew he'd truly break—he'd crack, go insane. Because, if the man didn't come to him everyday, then Kirito would know that he didn't need Kirito anymore. And if he didn't need Kirito, that meant that he'd gotten all he wanted. And if the man had the codes of the USP, then Kirito would know, without fail, that his friends were at his captor's mercy—they'd be hurt, in trouble, and he wouldn't even be able to _try _to help.

But, Kirito tried to calm himself. Kirito was the only one who knew what the codes were. The only other who had was Kayaba, and he was dead. Gone. Never to come back... Right?

But, he was still so lonely. Sometimes, Kirito found himself wishing that the almost-psychotic genius was still here with him, keeping him company. He realized that, in the two months he'd spent working by the older man's side, Kirito had grown to appreciate him—to _like_ him, even. And now, he wished for that company. Any company, actually, besides his captor's.

Then, he got an idea.

**SAO**

Asuna sat across from her mother, glaring at the woman with icy hatred. She had never really been one to go against her parents—especially her mother—and had done everything they'd told her, without question, mostly. But, that had been before she'd met him. Kirito. Now, she was different, stronger—and she didn't like this, not one bit.

"What," she growled, "are you saying to me? I can't go to Alfheim? Why not? Tell me!"

"Asuna," her mother stared her down with a nonindulgent gaze, but Asuna felt that it no longer affected her, and didn't even flinch. "Mother only wishes what is best for you. Alfheim is crawling with those false beings. Mother does not want you to mix with them. I do not understand why you immerse yourself in these fake worlds." The elder Yuuki was one of the human race that was... racists against the new additions to their list of species—and Asuna felt angered at it.

"They aren't fake worlds anymore! They're real! Like ours! And, even when they hadn't been, I survived perfectly fine in one of them for two whole years. _Mother_," the girl spat out the name as if it were a curse that would make even a hardcore sailor cry, and the woman's eyes narrowed. "should know that I can take care of myself!"

"Asuna, do not question Mother." The dark haired beauty told her, unrelenting. "I do not approve of the way you are speaking to me. I have—"

"I don't care what you've done," Asuna snapped, almost smiling at the way her mother's eyes widened—like she'd never even imagined to be interrupted by Asuna. "I'm sixteen. I'm old enough—and by New Reality's standards, I've been of age for two years now—to look after myself. I can make my own decisions, and Mother does not have to bother herself. I will actually be moving to Alfheim. I shall go pack my things now. I wasn't going to leave for a few days, but now, I believe that _Mother_ needs time to think for herself."

And with that, the chestnut haired girl left the room, not even looking back, before her mother could even think of replying.

Asuna felt amazing. She didn't think she'd ever realized just how much she had wanted to stand up to that infuriating woman before—and now that she had, her spirits were high, and she felt proud of herself. She had a feeling that Kirito would be, too.

And at the thought of Kirito, she grew excited, racing faster down the long halls toward her room, tearing open the doors, ignoring the automatic sensors, and ripping cloths and belongings out of her drawers and tossing them onto her bed, on top of a few duffel backs. Teleport crystals, sword sheaths, her rapier, other weapons, a few tunics and armors, and her Aincrad Guard uniform—she was still sub-leader of her old guild, even under it's new name, and that pleased her immensely. Barry worked just under her, and she was graced with his fun-loving presence often—some odd trinkets, a few belts, and some other things that she'd kept from her childhood. Soon, her closets, drawers, wardrobe were all empty, save for the things she knew she wouldn't miss. As soon as she finished zipping up the duffel bags, she placed them into her Inventory, and used a privet Teleport crystal to transfer to a point in Alfheim that was close to her newly bought apartment.

They had some new leads on Kirito, ones that had confirmed his presence in Alfheim. Soon, all of her friends would be moving into the same apartment complex, in the central city, as she was—they'd all bought them together, pooling in their Col for each other. Silica was only thirteen, however—she'd turn of age in a few moths—so they'd bought her's under Lisbeth's name, and she'd move in on her birthday. Hopefully, Kirito would be back with them long before then. In fact, they'd bought out the entire complex—it was fairly expensive, since the apartments were more like condo's that had been smashed together—very luxurious. It had actually become some what a joke to the local's now, as they'd called it the Guard's Tower—as Klein, Lisbeth, Silica, Agil, Suguha, Argo, and the Black Cats of the Full Moon were all side members of Asuna's guild. There were a few others who lived in the complex with them, of course, that were "Guards" as well, such as Sugu's friend, Recon, and Barry Asagaya, and some more. To Asuna, it felt nice to live together in the same building along with all of her friends—even if the most important was missing at the moment—and she enjoyed every minute of it.

They had all gotten extremely close with each other, once they'd all bought he complex. It go to the point where they were thinking about connection each of the apartments with doors, and converting the large foyer in the center of the second floor into a "family room."

The Lobby was a great place for parties, as well. They had one, actually, the day the deeds to the complex had been given to them by the landlady, whose name was Tonya. She'd attended it, and had told them that she'd feel better knowing that her complex was in her sub-leader's hands—as it turned out, Tonya was a pretty, crimson-haired ex-NPC, who'd moved to Alfheim from her original Realm, Aincrad, almost two months before. She'd joined the Aincrad Guards not too soon after the New Reality had set in, and was happy staying in the complex with her new-found friends.

As soon as she got to the complex, Asuna threw her duffel bags onto her large, Californian King-sized bed—it was probably bigger. Alfheim didn't have bed sized, really—and marched down to the "family room" where she new everyone would be—they'd started converting it only a week before.

"Asuna!" Argo called, waving from on top a ladder. The others smiled happily at her.

"Hello," She nodded, walking over to join them in painting the walls. They gone for plain white, and they were going to paint the window seals, door frames, etc. a deep black. The floor would be tiles checkered black and white, and all furniture sans the tables, which would be black, were going to be white. They liked the design—it suited them. Of course, a large banner sporting the Aincrad Guards Logo and colors—two swords crossed, and the colors were... well, black and white—would hang above the large fireplace and it's mantle.

"I thought you weren't coming for a few more days?" Keito asked, jumping down from the ladder he was climbing down from.

"Mother issues." She told them, and they all nodded, as if that had explained everything. And, really, it had.

Barry stood up from his spot on the cemented floor, where he'd been puzzling tiles together with Sachi and Ducker. "Well," The only actual adult there besides Tonya, who had smiled as Asuna entered. "I was called earlier by Diabel, you know? Bluette wanted me at the HQ for something. Mind taking my spot at tiling?"

Asuna smiled. Diabel had been offered the place as the new guild's leader a few weeks before—apparently, dying in SAO had made him see how much of a high-class moron he'd been. Once he'd come back with the other four thousand unfortunates, he'd shaped up, and was now known for his renowned leadership skills, and his care for each and every one of his men(and women). "Sure thing, Craven." She said, responding with his username. She was glad he was leading the case of Kirito's capture—he was almost as close to him as she was—sans for the love relationship, of course. He'd dubbed himself the Black Swordsman's older brother, just behind Klein, in fact. No one had really objected, and Kirito had seemed comfortable enough.

Speaking of Klein, he was doing much better than he had been since Kirito's disappearance. He'd started smiling again, and Asuna felt that he'd make a quick recovering from his sulking habits as soon as Kirito was back with them, and in good health.

"Thanks, 'Suna." The spiky haired blond shot her a blinding smile before he took off, leaving the room, and shouting farewells—which were heartily returned.

Asuna smiled. The only thing missing from this perfect scene was Kirito. She let out a sigh as she plopped down next to Ducker, who smiled at her, his bold bangs falling into his eyes from beneath his skullcap. She bent down and got to work, puzzling the tiles together over the damp, gooey cementing like she was making a checkerboard—which, in a way, she was.

He wouldn't be missing for long though, and soon, this perfect scene would be complete.

**SAO**

_I hope this works..._

This was the thought that had been plaguing Kirito for the past few days, ever since he'd gotten that idea. It was extremely risky, but, if he could pull it off, it would be worth it. He'd planned everything out carefully, making sure his captor wouldn't come in the middle of everything and ruin it—the man seemed to have a schedule, as crazy as that was, and Kirito had, by now, learned it by heart.

He took one last survey of the area outside of his cage just to be sure, before closing his eyes and concentrating hard. Soon, there was a semi-bright flash, and Kirito opened his obsidian eyes to see a crystal tear lying in his open palms. He smiled, for the first time in a long time. It was one of the perks of being a Programmer of this New Reality—as he'd heard the man refer to it as. Even when outside forces restricted him, somehow, from accessing his Avatar Menu, he could still open and use his Inventory. Of course, the man didn't know that...

Kirito watched the crystal being to glow a soft blue, before lifting out of his palms and floating five inches away from his face. Kirito stared at it for a long while, hoping—pleading—that this would work.

He reached out a finger in baited breath, and clicked gently on the crystal, flinching in pain as a bright white shone next—his eyes had somehow become extremely sensitive to flashes, these past few weeks.

The next moment, a sleepy voice called out in confusion— "...Daddy?"

His eyes snapped open, and he looked up to see Yui, beautiful, adorable, little Yui floating where the crystal had been just moments before.

He sucked in a deep breath, face breaking into a tired, adoring smile. "Yui."

The small, lithe figure began to descend, quicker and quicker, before he landing in Kirito's outstretched arms. "Daddy!" Yui cried, tears springing in her bright eyes.

Kirito smiled gently, tucking a strand of the girl's raven hair, and the cute, button-nosed face crinkled into an adoring smile. "Papa, I missed you!"

Kirito clutched Yui, holding her against his bandaged chest. "I missed you too, Yui." He felt tears soak through the front of the white linen. He looked down, softly. "Yui, do you know what's changed, now?"

The girl looked up into his eyes, understanding. "The world? Or, the reality, right Papa? You changed it, and made it better, didn't you, Daddy?"

He smiled, nodding. "Yes. But," Here, his face darkened slightly. "A very bad man had captured me. He wants the codes to The USP—The Universal System Program. I can't allow him to know—but he's very insistent. He will not stop hurting me until I tell him—which I never will. That is the price I must pay for being one of the Programmers. Do you understand that?"

By now, Yui was crying, hugging him tightly with her tiny little arms. "I'm sorry, Papa! I'm so sorry that you got hurt! I hate this bad man! How could he hurt my Daddy!"

He sighed softly, reaching out a hand and patted her head once, twice, three times. By the third, she looked up, silently sniffling. "Yui, he is not right in the mind, you know. He's starved for Power—it's made him sick. He's had too much in the past, and he got drunk on it. Now, he wants the Ultimate power that not even I have—and we can't let that happen, can we?" He sat back down on the bed, pulling his adopted daughter into his lap.

Yui had brightened at his usage of the word 'we.' She smiled. "Yes! Yes, Papa! I will help you!"

He hugged her, a lone tear making it's way down the left side of his face, trailing down from the corner of his eye as he squeezed his lids closed. "You're already helping me, Yui, by just being here. I don't like being alone like this."

Yui made a soft, sad noise, and cupped her father's face into the crook of her tiny neck as he cried.

**SAO**

Asuna stared at her open palms, eyes brimming with full, watery, unshed tears. Yui's Heart. It had just...vanished. It had glowed brightly, then was gone in a flash pf bright light. What had happened? Who had taken it? Where? All she had left was the chain.

She held the linked ovals of steel to her chest, closing her eyes tightly and let the tears overflow—hoping with all her being that her daughter was alright. She'd already lost Kirito for who knows how long. She didn't want Yui to go, too!

"Please," she prayed, to anyone who'd listen. "Let her come back soon.

**SAO**

_**And, bada bing, bada boom. There's your next chapter, folks! I hope it's alright. I've gotten to a sort of standstill—still trying to figure out Ed's identity. I guess I built on that this chapter, but seriously—I guess it was a slight cliché to be expected, yes? I don't really know... I'm thinking about doing another flashback, next chapter—but maybe it shouldn't be a chapter meant for any downtime. Action, then?**_

_**Here, a vote for next chapter:**_

_**a) We find out Ed's identity,**_

_**b) We read about another flashback to our characters time spent in SAO(or a request for some other focus) , or**_

_**c) We have Yui do some secret agent work?**_

_**Vote for the one you want to happen, I guess. Love ya all!**_

_**~EpikalStorms***_


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